Protesters Occupy Congress Demanding Jobs

By Andrea Salazar

Demanding good jobs for the 99 percent, protesters from around the country took their message to members of Congress Tuesday as part of the “Take Back the Capitol” rally.

Elbridge James, president of the board at Progressive Maryland, one of the participating organizations, said the group is in support of a plan to put people back to work at a time when the unemployment rate sits at 8.6 percent.

“We need our congressional representatives to work with the executive branch to come up with a jobs plan that puts people back to work,” James said. “In the interim, we need the extension of the unemployment benefits, so people have a floor that they can stand on and not be afraid of not being able to provide for their children.”

A group from Houston held a sit-in at Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s (R-Texas) office chanting “this is what democracy looks like” and “we are the 99 percent.” They met with Hutchison’s legislative director, but came to no agreement. The group promised to stay in the office until the senator agreed to meet with them.

Hutchison’s staff called the meeting “civil,” but said the senator would not be changing her position against the president’s jobs bill.

Other protesters visited the offices of Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rob Johnson (R-Wisc.). CNN reported protests at other offices on the Hill, including Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Most of the protesters were older individuals who were unemployed or underemployed. They said they funded their visits with donations and sponsorships from activist groups.

“Take Back The Capitol” is a week-long event by community, labor and Occupy organizations from across the country. For more information about the demonstrations, visit their website.

Janie Amaya contributed to this story.

What's Next For The 99% Movement?

The tents, communal kitchen and library might be out of Zuccotti park, but it doesn’t seem like the Occupy Wall Street movement will be packing it in anytime soon.

Thousands of protesters hit the streets of New York yesterday for the OWS Day of Action, a series of events scheduled to mark second month anniversary of the protests.

But in the wake of the early morning police raid in Zuccotti park on Tuesday, and subsequent court ruling allowing the NYPD to prevent protesters from bringing tents, sleeping bags or large containers into the park, the day’s events also signaled that the Occupy movement could still mobilize large scale public support and attention, even without its symbolic encampment. 

Groups of protesters occupied subway stations through out the five boroughs before convening at Foley Square around 5:30 PM to take part in a rally organized by the Service Employees International Union Local 1199. Some initial reports said that more than 30 000 people were at the Foley Square but police officials have since said the crowd size was probably between 5 000-10 000. 

Several thousand protesters later made their way to the Brooklyn Bridge under the watchful eye of a large police contingent, and crossed the bridge along the pedestrian walkway as drivers on the road bellow honked their horns in support.

Some protesters were seemingly able to place a projector that displayed a series giant Occupy slogans like “ We Are the 99%” and “Occupy Earth” on the side of the Verizon building next to the Brooklyn bridge. 

The NYPD is reporting that more than 250 people were arrested through out the day. The large majority of arrests came early in the morning, when protesters marched through the streets of the financial district to disrupt traffic and access to the New York Stock Exchange. Several media reports allege NYPD officers used their batons on protesters. 

Police have reacted particularly aggressively in their response to acts of civil disobedience in the heart of the financial district and previous early morning attempts by protesters to reach the NYSE have resulted in several dozen arrests and violent confrontations. 

Seven Anti-War Demonstrators Arrested At House Hearing

Seven anti-war protesters were arrested by Capitol Police Thursday after repeatedly interrupting the testimony of Defense officials at a House Armed Services hearing.

The anti-war demonstrators, who have been identified as part of the Occupy DC movement in Freedom Plaza, teamed up with Code Pink and shuffled their way into the crowded hearing room that was expected to hear testimony from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey.

According to a statement released by October2011.org, an advocate website for the Occupy DC movement, one of the demonstrators arrested was 21-year-old veteran Michael Patterson, who was deployed to Iraq as an interrogator at the age of 18.

Patterson interrupted the testimony of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and was eventually arrested and escorted from the hearing room by two Capitol Police officers.

“You are murdering people,” Patterson shouted. “I saw what you do to people in Iraq.”

Demonstrators who failed to infiltrate the hearing room continued to shout, “We are the 99 percent and we don’t support these wars,” throughout the hallways of Rayburn House Office Building.

The seven demonstrators were arrested and charged with disruption of Congress.

Hoyer Defends Occupy Wall Street From GOP Critic

By Andrea Salazar

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) Tuesday countered House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s assertion that demonstrators who have set up camp in New York’s financial district represent a “mob.”

Speaking to reporters, Hoyer compared today’s protests with the Tea Party’s origins.

“I don’t know whether Mr. Cantor watched any of the town meetings that we had in August of ‘09,” Hoyer said. “They were much more confrontational in many respects than these demonstrations are. This is a democracy and one of the good aspects of democracy is people get the opportunity to express their concerns and hope that action will be taken to address those grievances.”

The Minority Whip also said that he hopes the Senate has the 51 votes needed to pass the President’s jobs bill, adding that too often good legislation fails to move forward since it can’t garner the 60 voted needed to override a filibuster.

“One of the problems that we have in this country is that a minority controls the United States Senate and that the majority of the representatives of the United States Senate are precluded, too often, from considering the merits of proposals which have a majority support but not 60 votes support,” he said. “I think that’s unfortunate.”

As for the super committee’s looming deadline for a proposal cutting at least $1.2 trillion in spending, Hoyer said it has a “unique authority” to act not for political gains, but on the “absolute necessity to come to grips with the fiscal challenge that confronts us.”

He also said he expects trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia to pass through the House with bipartisan support.